Sneak peek: Family Guy meets Windows 7

Microsoft has teamed up with Fox to deliver a 30-minute Family Guy comedy …

Microsoft and FOX One have announced a marketing collaboration that will see Windows 7 in a new special with the working title "Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show" airing Sunday, November 8, at 8:30pm EST and PST. It will star Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show as well as his Family Guy co-star Alex Borstein (voice of the series' Lois character).

There will be no commercial ad time, no network promotions, and no commercial breaks—just a 30-minute Windows 7 trailer that somehow attempts to blend the operating system with show content in the style of the old Texaco Star Theater. MacFarlane and Borstein have teamed with Windows advertising agencies Universal McCann and Crispin, Porter + Bogusky to develop, write, and produce the half-hour special that will highlight the comedy duo's humor with original animation, live-action performances of Family Guy's most memorable musical numbers, comedy sketches, and surprise celebrity guests.

This is all part of Microsoft's pitch to younger audiences. In September 2009, Microsoft announced that it would be selling Windows 7 to students for cheaper, so we had a hunch and headed over to win741.com, where the announcement was first made. We found what we were looking for. If you don't want to see the Silverlight version, we've uploaded the short clip of Family Guy's Brian and Stewie discussing Windows 7 and embedded it below:

Hard-die Family Guy fans will notice that the video is familiar but that the audio isn't (see the original on YouTube). Before we found the above video, the closest thing we could think of to this Windows 7 promotion was back when Bill Gates answered caller questions about Windows XP on Frasier (starts at 2:20):

Now replace Frasier with Family Guy, Bill Gates with other celebrities, extend by 30 minutes, and you've got something close to what's coming in three weeks.

It doesn't stop there. Microsoft and Fox Licensing and Merchandising are also planning to reach out to over 4.3 million college students on campuses across the US in a 12-week college tour. Students will get the chance to try Windows 7 for themselves as well as customized entertainment created by Fox Licensing and Merchandising such as outdoor movie nights hosted by Family Guy's Stewie and Brian, online videos, and other customized Family Guy content. In addition, Microsoft and FOX One will also roll out marketing collaboration efforts with a variety of FOX One properties including 20th Century Fox Television, FOX Sports, FX, FOX.com, FOX Sports on MSN, and Hulu. Neither of the companies detailed the financial details of the Microsoft-Fox partnership.